This invention relates to furniture, and in particular, to folding ready-to-assemble fully upholstered furniture that can be shipped and/or stored in a relatively small space.
Fully upholstered furniture, such as sofas, loveseats, chairs and sleep sofas that do not have exposed frame members, tend to be large, bulky and heavy. Fully upholstered furniture has also gradually increased in size over the past two decades and does not always fit through narrow doorways or staircases in many older homes and apartments.
It is known to provide upholstered furniture that is assembled by the consumer. Although such Knockdown or Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) upholstered furniture reduces shipping costs and fits into narrow spaces, its commercial popularity has been limited. Fully upholstered RTA furniture can be more costly than comparable conventional furniture due in part to the need for expensive hardware and the use of expensive fabrics to cover areas that remain hidden in conventional designs. Also, it has been found that assembly of such furniture can be awkward for customers who lack the physical strength needed to assemble heavy components. It is also known to provide RTA futon furniture. Typically, this type of furniture is not fully upholstered and consists of an exposed wood or metal frame with one or more futon cushions.
It is also known to provide furniture that is foldable, for example, folding lawn chairs or desk chairs. Typically, this type of furniture is used outdoors as lawn or beach furniture, or as office or institutional-type seating. This folding furniture is typically not fully upholstered, and often has exposed unsightly hardware, and thus, is not suitable for use in most homes as living room or family room seating. Further, it is known to provide fully upholstered foam furniture (that does not utilize wood frames or spring supports) for family room use. However, such furniture can be relatively uncomfortable, lack durability, and be unsuitable for most in-home uses. It is also known to provide fully upholstered automotive seating, which is not suitable for living room or family room seating.
It is an object of the present invention to provide fully upholstered furniture items that are foldable so as to require reduced space for transport or storage; are as sturdy and durable as conventional upholstered furniture; are indistinguishable in styling and comfort from conventional fully upholstered furniture; are simple to assemble, and are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide attachment systems that will securely attach the arms and back of the upholstered furniture item to a frame so that there will be minimal wracking or separation between components, and yet will allow various parts to be folded or removed for storage or shipping. Wracking is defined as a twisting movement that often occurs between the arms and back of inexpensive upholstered furniture.
Still another object of the invention is to provide fully upholstered furniture items that do not require a rail to determine the pitch angle between the back and seat. Further, the furniture items do not require an outer back member to maintain the pitch angle, as is the case of conventional upholstered furniture. In this invention, proper pitch is maintained through the use of a combination of latches fixing the angle of the back of the arms, and the back frame member.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a fully upholstered furniture item that may be rapidly and completely assembled by a single consumer; and that in use has no exposed hardware and no separate parts or hardware that may get lost in transportation or storage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new, original and ornamental design of a fully upholstered, foldable, furniture item.
The above and other objects are accomplished by providing a foldable, fully upholstered, furniture item for placement on a substantially horizontal surface. The furniture system has a horizontal seat support frame having front and rear support frame members, spaced left and right side support frame members, a back member having a bottom back member rotatably secured to the rear support frame member and left and right back side support members. The back member is rotatable between a position substantially parallel to the horizontal seat support frame and an obtuse angle with respect to the horizontal seat support frame. Left and right arm members are provided, each having a rear arm frame and a lower arm frame. The left and right lower arm frames are secured to the left and right side support frame members respectively. The furniture system also provides left and right latch assemblies. When the furniture system is in a first assembled configuration for seating, the back member is in a substantially vertical position, the left and right arm members are in substantially vertically upward positions, and the left and right latch assemblies are latched. When the furniture system is in a second unassembled configuration for storage and shipping, the back member is in a substantially horizontal position, and the left and right latch assemblies are unlatched.
The latching assembly can be a generic draw catch, window latch or similar catch, latch or clamp intended to join a pair of members in abutting relationship along the edges thereof and to lock them in place. The latching assemblies may be manually released to allow the arm and back members to pivot about their respective horizontal axis to the storage configuration.
In this first embodiment, the latching assembly is reinforced by a hook and loop fastener (such as VELCRO(copyright)) comprised of a hook element and al loop element. VELCRO(copyright)is a trademark registered by Velcro Industries. B.V. for hook and loop fasteners. The hook and loop elements are brought together during the assembly process, allowing the latching elements to be easily aligned. After the latching elements are locked in place, and a person is seated, the hook and loop fasteners prevent the back member from pivoting on a horizontal axis away from the storage configuration by resistance across the horizontal plane of the hook and loop fastener.
Preferably, the seat member is pivotably connected to the various support members using a plurality of respective hinges. The hinges can be continuous, i.e., extending across the entire width of the furniture item, or alternatively, two or more separate hinges can be used to connect each arm and back member to the seat member. The hinges may be comprised of metal, plastic, or a fabric material. Whether the present invention is folded in the storage configuration or unfolded in the normal seating configuration, little weight is placed on the hinges.
Further, instead of hinges, the various support members can be pivotably attached to the seat member using other means, for example, a ball-and-socket arrangement. Regardless of the method of pivotably attaching the arm and back members to the seat member, it will be appreciated that this connection retains the various support members in constant connection with the seat member, so that the various components cannot become lost or separated.
This embodiment provides for a furniture item that is easily set up by a single person merely by pivoting out light weight arm and back members. The assembly process requires no tools, special skills, and little strength. Moreover, the furniture item can be unfolded and locked into the correct seating position by an individual purchaser in a matter of seconds. Further, when folded in the storage position, (with the seat and back cushions stored beneath the seat member) the furniture item displaces only 50% to 75% of the space occupied by the assembled item (depending upon the style.) As such, the furniture item according to the present invention can be easily and inexpensively transported and stored.
An alternative embodiment provides for a furniture item in which the arms are bolted to the seat member. As in the previous embodiment, the furniture item further includes right and left latching assemblies, each consisting of two elements, a latch member and a receptacle member. These latch members lock together to further restrict movement of the arm members and to prevent the back member from pivoting on its axis. In addition, the positioning of the right and left latching assemblies determines the angle of the back member thereby setting the pitch of the back member in relation to the seat member. Although this embodiment requires additional time for assembly, it has the advantage of reducing the size of the item in storage or when being shipped.
An additional embodiment provides for a furniture item in which a sleeper mechanism is substituted for the seat member springs shown in the previously described embodiments. This sleeper mechanism can be a generic model such as those manufactured by Leggett and Platt.
The present invention thus provides for upholstered furniture such as a chair, sofa or sleep sofa that is decorative, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, and usable in most homes.